Sentences and Sentence Structure Errors

The Dreaded “Complete Sentence” To be a complete sentence, a group of words must have three things: 1) A _____________ (noun or pronoun) 2) A __________________(verb) 3) Express a _________________________ If a group of words does not have the above things, or has too many, it commits a _____________________________________. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Sentence Structure Errors There are three types of sentence structure errors: 1) _____________________: Incomplete sentences 2) ______________________: Too many complete sentences separated with no complete sentences 3) ________________________: Too many complete sentences separated with a comma instead of a period

Fragments 1) Fragment: A ___________________________________ ________________________ that is punctuated as if it were complete (with a capital letter and a period) Is missing one or more of the following: 1) A _______________ 2) A ______________________ 3) A __________________________ Why is this bad? Think of it like a partial train car. Without all the parts, it won’t be able to run! A fragment ___________________________________________.

Fixing Fragments Since fragments are only a part of a sentence, you have to ________________________________________________ to make it a complete sentence. Though Bernard likes school. Though Bernard likes school, ____________________________ ________________________________________(complete thought; add independent clause!) _____________________________. (eliminate subordinating conjunction) Because of the students’ misbehavior with the substitute. Because of the students’ misbehavior with the substitute, ____________________________________. (add subject, verb, and complete thought)

Run-Ons 2) Run-on: _________________________________________ _____________________________________ punctuated as a single sentence (The thoughts “run on” without stopping!) Why is this bad? This makes the ideas run together, which can be quite _________________________________________. Think of it like two train engines crammed together. With that many ideas (engines), you’ll get a runaway train!

Fixing a Run-On To fix a run-on, we have a few options: 1) ____________________________________________________ We can do this with various “red light” punctuation: Period and capital letter Semi-colon and lower case letter 2) __________________________________________________correctly with the use of the following conjunctions: FANBOYS (with a comma) Subordinating (with a comma sometimes) Correlative (with a comma sometimes) Note: Conjunctive adverbs __________________________________ __________________. It can only start a new one. Another Note: A ______________alone WILL NOT fix a run-on!

Fixing Run-Ons Darcy can’t stand Theodore he smells like cheese. What are the ways we can stop this runaway train? 1.STOP between the two separate sentences: Darcy can’t stand Theodore_________smells like cheese.

Fixing Run-Ons 2. CONNECT the separate sentences correctly with the appropriate conjunction: FANBOYS Darcy can’t stand Theodore ________ he smells like cheese. Subordinating Darcy can’t stand Theodore ______________ he smells like cheese. ____________ he smells like cheese ___ Darcy can’t stand Theodore. Darcy ____________ he smells like cheese___can’t stand Theodore. Correlative (Doesn’t really work for this example, but here’s something similar.) __________ does Theodore smell like cheese ________ he ______ enjoys cheese as a tasty snack. What about Conjunctive Adverbs? (consequently, therefore, etc.)

Fixing Run-Ons What about Conjunctive Adverbs? (consequently, therefore, etc.) A conjunctive adverb and a comma CANNOT fix a run-on! Darcy can’t stand Theodore ________________ he smells like cheese. NOOOOOOO! Darcy can’t stand Theodore ________________ he smells like cheese. NOOOOOOO! All of these are incorrect. In fact, they went from a run-on to another sentence structure error : the comma splice!

Comma Splices 3) Comma Splices: Splitting two independent clauses ______________________________________________ (Placing a comma where there SHOULD be a period) Why is this bad? A comma inserts a brief pause, but this isn’t enough. After the pause, the reader just keeps “running on” to the next thought! This is very confusing for the reader. You must _________________________________ or use _________________________ to appropriately connect the thoughts. A comma is not enough!

Fixing a Comma Splice To fix a comma splice, we have the ___________________________ (since it’s essentially the same as a run-on with the addition of a comma): 1) _________________________________________(instead of pause). Period and capital letter Semi-colon and lower case letter 2) __________________________________(and comma if necessary) FANBOYS (with a comma) Subordinating (with a comma sometimes) Correlative (with a comma sometimes) Note: __________________________________still don’t work!

Fixing Comma Splices Theodore loves Darcy, she smells like cookies. What are the ways we can revise this correctly? 1.STOP between the two separate sentences: Theodore loves Darcy_________smells like cookies.

Fixing Comma Splices 2. CONNECT the separate sentences correctly with the appropriate conjunction: FANBOYS Theodore loves Darcy__________she smells like cookies. Subordinating Theodore loves Darcy ___________ she smells like cookies. __________ she smells like cookies _____ Theodore loves Darcy. Theodore__________________she smells like cookies_____loves Darcy. Correlative (Doesn’t really work for this example, but here’s something similar.) __________________ does Darcy smell like cookies __________ Theodore _____________ loves her. What about Conjunctive Adverbs? (consequently, therefore, etc.)

Fixing Comma Splices What about Conjunctive Adverbs? (consequently, therefore, etc.) A conjunctive adverb and a comma CANNOT fix a comma splice! Theodore loves Darcy _________________ she smells like cookies. NOOOOOOO! Theodore loves Darcy _________________ she smells like cookies. NOOOOOOO! All of these are wrong wrong wrong! How can we fix it? Theodore loves Darcy _________________ she smells like cookies.

Identify the Error…and Fix It! Decide if the following are examples of fragments, run-ons, comma splices, or complete sentences. Then fix the error using the ways we’ve learned. 1. Because Herald forgot his book. Error? ______________________________ Revision? (Choose 1-2) ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

Identify the Error…and Fix It! Herald is not a very good student, he refuses to do his homework. Error? ____________________________________ Revision? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

Identify the Error…and Fix It! Paul ran then he decided to relax. Error? ___________________________________________ Revision? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

Identify the Error…and Fix It! Paul ran then he decided to relax. Error? ______________________________________________ Revision? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

Identify the Error…and Fix It! Amy went home because she became incredibly sleepy. Error? ___________________________________________ Revision? ___________________________________________________________ Despite his lack of patience for people who never meet deadlines. Error? ______________________________________________ Revision?___________________________________________________________

Identify the Error…and Fix It! Margaret arrived tardy, therefore, she didn’t have time to finish the quiz. Error? _______________________________________________ Revision? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

Why does it matter ? WRITING WRITING WRITING! Sentence structure errors and punctuation are not only VERY frequent ___________________________, but also compromise the ___________________of your writing! Sentence structure errors severely impede (get in the way of) meaning and clarity. They also are _________________________________ for college-level writing, yet these concepts are not taught.

Summary/Quiz Questions